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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Anna Catherine Martin

Spain holidays: Bars and restaurants not what they were pre-pandemic with Irish tourists potentially getting nasty surprise

As people get ready to jet back to their favourite pre-pandemic destinations Spain faces a new crisis: a shortage of waiters.

According to business groups, in Spain, there is a shortage of at least 100,000 workers in the tourism industry.

A figure that will be difficult to fill.

READ MORE: We tried to book a hotel in Dublin every weekend in July and the results are madness

Holidaymakers could be in for a nasty surprise, as across the nation restaurants and bars are crying out for staff.

The Hard Rock Cafe in Ibiza has gone as far as to offer staff a €200 bonus to find suitable employees.

Spain’s Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz blamed the issue on low salaries for waiters or hotel workers, something that Alex Fratini, of the Association of Bars, Restaurants and Cafeterias of Benidorm (Abreca) did not agree with.

He said waiters were not badly paid, with most taking home about €1,200 per month and collecting generous tips from tourists.

“The problem is because of the pandemic many staff left. Now we have to get them back in time before the high season this summer,” he told inews.

Some bars and restaurants in popular resorts such as, a popular tourist destination, Benidorm have already had to reduce their hours or shut for entire days at a time due to a lack of staff.

Tourism has a big impact on the national GDP making up 12% of it.

If the hospitality roles can’t be filled, it will have a heavy knock on effect on the economy.

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